Maths and engineering

Maths isnt my strongest point but I did fine in my General Engineering HNC a few years ago (we did things like calculus but I managed fine with a bit of coaching from my Dad) however since leaving college I have hardly used any of that maths (most of my work is mechancial design but I help out with some system inegration). I have had to do some airflow and similar calculations but there is my calculator and the formulars are all on the internet (or in my old fluid mechanics textbook!)


I would have said that electrical/electronics engineering involved maths but it depends on what you are doing, the electronics in our kit is again nothing I couldnt do the calcs for with a calculator and a formular of the internet.


I have collegues in software engineering and I know that involves a lot of maths.


My Dad is a structural engineer (civil engineering) and I know he does a lot of calculations around bearings, beam loads, wind loading etc.


If you are interested in how things work and making things you will probably find that if you chose a course where the maths is 'engineering maths' you will get on fine. The maths I did at college made a whole lot more sense and was a lot more interesting than the maths that I did at school and I think that is because it was realated to real engineering problems and I could see the point of it! Whatever you do dont do 'pure maths' if you dont like maths!


Good luck and as the others said, talk to universitys and teachers and get some work experience which will be very valuable as well as seeing what engineering is like in the real working life!

Maths isnt my strongest point but I did fine in my General Engineering HNC a few years ago (we did things like calculus but I managed fine with a bit of coaching from my Dad) however since leaving college I have hardly used any of that maths (most of my work is mechancial design but I help out with some system inegration). I have had to do some airflow and similar calculations but there is my calculator and the formulars are all on the internet (or in my old fluid mechanics textbook!)


I would have said that electrical/electronics engineering involved maths but it depends on what you are doing, the electronics in our kit is again nothing I couldnt do the calcs for with a calculator and a formular of the internet.


I have collegues in software engineering and I know that involves a lot of maths.


My Dad is a structural engineer (civil engineering) and I know he does a lot of calculations around bearings, beam loads, wind loading etc.


If you are interested in how things work and making things you will probably find that if you chose a course where the maths is 'engineering maths' you will get on fine. The maths I did at college made a whole lot more sense and was a lot more interesting than the maths that I did at school and I think that is because it was realated to real engineering problems and I could see the point of it! Whatever you do dont do 'pure maths' if you dont like maths!


Good luck and as the others said, talk to universitys and teachers and get some work experience which will be very valuable as well as seeing what engineering is like in the real working life!